I just came home from hearing Anne Lamott speak and read from her new book Grace (Eventually). I am so so so moved. Now I finally know what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be like her.

Anne Lamott seems to have exactly want I want in life. Not in terms of money or fame, but of self-understanding and acceptance. She’s imperfect and a little bit nuts (aren’t we all) but instead of pretending those parts of her don’t exist, instead of painting over them and hoping no one notices the weird crackly spots on the walls, she embraces them fully with the knowledge that it takes all parts of her to make the whole human that she is. I have never heard such real and honest words before. This woman is one hundred percent authentic, and it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Even though she lets her neuroses shine through, she has this sense of calm about her that envelops anyone standing near her. You feel her power, her womanness, and you just can’t take your eyes off of her. If I could be half the woman she is, I would consider myself a true success as a human being.

I recently read her book Traveling Mercies, the first in her three book series on faith and spirituality. It’s one of those books that reaches down inside you and scrambles up your insides. When you’re done reading it you’ve been jumbled up, laid out flat, and put back together a completely different person. It’s that powerful. It was a life-changing read for me, and seeing her tonight was life-changing as well. She said of grace, that it finds you where you are, and always leaves you somewhere new. And I think the same can be said of her, and her writing. She is so real and true, and the things she writes about speak to people so profoundly, that you come away better and prettier and smarter. I wish there were more humans like her on this planet.

If you’d like to read my story, email me at karli at momonawire dot com for the password. I just didn’t want any random person finding it through a Google search. Writing like this is personal, vulnerable. I want to keep it safe.

I’m writing a short story, and I’ve come to a road block. I need some ideas! I have this character, and she’s really sad, but I don’t know why…

If you were a complicated young woman that we don’t know much about, why would you go to church and come out crying every time? What are those tears about?

It’s really hard to think when I have an extremely gassy dog lying at my feet.

UPDATE: I figured it out. And it’s awesome. Will post the story when I’m done.

Have you guys heard of Justin.tv? This guy has a webcam strapped to his head, and has a live video feed on his website of what he’s doing. Twenty-four hours a day. Even when he’s sleeping. Even when he’s pooping. According to Justin, “I started Justin.tv because I thought it would [be] awesome for people to see what it was like to be Justin.”

And you know what? It is totally awesome. I’ve been sitting here for 20 minutes seeing what it’s like to be Justin. So far, he just reads a lot of e-mail. But I feel like I’m spying on someone, and I do loves me a good spy. He even said hi to me. I was Justin.fan.78 in the chat box, and I typed hello. He said, “Hi 78.” And when I said I was going to blog this he said “Thanks.” I feel so famous.

Anytime I’m bored now I can just pop on over and see what Justin’s up to. Maybe I can get him to tell my kids to quit whining. They may not listen to me, but they sure as heck would listen to some wacky guy with a webcam strapped to his head. Who wouldn’t?